47 U.S.C. § 510

Forfeiture of communications devices

Read at: OLRCuscode.house.gov CornellLII GovInfogovinfo.gov JustiaTitle 47 CasesGoogle Scholar

(a) Violation with willful and knowing intent

Any electronic, electromagnetic, radio frequency, or similar device, or component thereof, used, sent, carried, manufactured, assembled, possessed, offered for sale, sold, or advertised with willful and knowing intent to violate section 301 or 302a of this title, or rules prescribed by the Commission under such sections, may be seized and forfeited to the United States.

(b) Seizure

Any property subject to forfeiture to the United States under this section may be seized by the Attorney General of the United States upon process issued pursuant to the supplemental rules for certain admiralty and maritime claims by any district court of the United States having jurisdiction over the property, except that seizure without such process may be made if the seizure is incident to a lawful arrest or search.

(c) Laws applicable to seizure and forfeitureAll provisions of law relating to—(1) the seizure, summary and judicial forfeiture, and condemnation of property for violation of the customs laws;(2) the disposition of such property or the proceeds from the sale thereof;(3) the remission or mitigation of such forfeitures; and(4) the compromise of claims with respect to such forfeitures;shall apply to seizures and forfeitures incurred, or alleged to have been incurred, under the provisions of this section, insofar as applicable and not inconsistent with the provisions of this section, except that such seizures and forfeitures shall be limited to the communications device, devices, or components thereof.(d) Disposition of forfeited property

Whenever property is forfeited under this section, the Attorney General of the United States may forward it to the Commission or sell any forfeited property which is not harmful to the public. The proceeds from any such sale shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury of the United States.

(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title V, § 510, as added Pub. L. 97–259, title I, § 125, Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1098.)Editorial NotesReferences in Text

The supplemental rules for certain admiralty and maritime claims, referred to in subsec. (b), were renamed the Supplemental Rules for Admiralty or Maritime Claims and Asset Forfeiture Actions and are set out as part of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in the Appendix to Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 510, act June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title V, § 510, as added May 11, 1962, Pub. L. 87–448, § 1, 76 Stat. 68, related to forfeitures for violations of rules and regulations by radio stations operating in common carrier, safety and special radio fields, prior to repeal effective the thirtieth day after Feb. 21, 1978, by Pub. L. 95–234, §§ 4, 7, Feb. 21, 1978, 92 Stat. 35.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 22 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1975–2023 · leading case: United States v. Any & All Radio Station Transmission Equip., 29 F. Supp. 2d 393 (E.D. Mich. 1998).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

United States v. Any & All Radio Station Transmission Equip., 29 F. Supp. 2d 393 (E.D. Mich. 1998). · cites it 13× “The government, pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 510 (a) of the Communications Act, effected an ex parte in rem seizure of the equipment of Radio Maquina.”

United States v. Jerry Szoka, 260 F.3d 516 (6th Cir. 2001). · cites it 2× “3d at 668 , this court held that a district court can consider an unlicensed microradio broadcaster’s consti *527 tutional defenses to an in rem forfeiture action instituted by the FCC pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 510 (a). 8 Szoka contends that Straweutter applies equally to his…”

United States v. Roy Neset, 235 F.3d 415 (8th Cir. 2000). · cites it 3× “Like Neset, Fried had never applied for a license, although he maintained that he had requested a waiver (and the district court assumed for purposes of analysis that he had).”

United States v. Any & All Radio Station Transmission Equip., 19 F. Supp. 2d 738 (E.D. Mich. 1998). · cites it 4× “47 U.S.C. § 510 (a). It is this latter provision upon which the Government is relying in bringing this in rem action.”

United States v. Any & All Radio Station Transmission Equip., 976 F. Supp. 1255 (D. Minnesota 1997). · cites it 2× “” The complaint further alleges that defendant equipment is subject to forfeiture pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 510 (a). That provision provides that persons who willfully and knowingly intend to violate the licensing requirement may have their equipment or devices seized and…”

United States v. Stephen Paul Dunifer, 219 F.3d 1004 (9th Cir. 2000). “Laurel Avenue involved an in rem forfeiture action brought in the district court pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 510 (a). See 207 F.3d at 459.”

United States v. Any & All Radio Station Equip., 93 F. Supp. 2d 414 (S.D.N.Y. 2000). · cites it 3× “The United States brings this in rem action, pursuant to the Federal Communications Act (“FCA”), 47 U.S.C. § 510 , seeking forfeiture of radio transmission equipment it seized from Inglesia Pentecostal El Fin Se Acera, Inc.”

Atlas Roofing Co., Inc. v. Occupational Saf. & Health Review Comm'n, United States Dep't Oflabor, 518 F.2d 990 (5th Cir. 1975). “47 U.S.C. § 510 (a) (1970). Stipulated violations.”

United States v. Any & All Radio Station Transmission Equip., 218 F.3d 543 (6th Cir. 2000). · cites it 7× “On the basis of these findings, the United States filed a complaint under 47 U.S.C. § 510 seeking forfeiture of all equipment used for the unlicensed transmission of radio station WPRC-FM at the frequency 91.”

United States v. Any & All Radio Station Transmission Equip., 204 F.3d 658 (6th Cir. 2000). · cites it 3× “On July 22, 1997, the government filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan a complaint in which it sought, pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 510 (a), the civil in rem forfeiture of the radio transmission equipment located at 2903 Bent Oak Highway, the…”

State of Alaska v. Kenneth John Jouppi, 519 P.3d 653 (Alaska Ct. App. 2022). “, or the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2016; or (E) section 1 of title VI of the Act of June 15, 1917 [‘Illegal exportation of war materials’]”); 47 U.S.C. § 510 (c)(1) (providing that forfeiture of radio communications devices are governed by customs forfeiture laws).”

United States v. Any & All Radio Station Transmission Equip., 169 F.3d 548 (8th Cir. 1999). · cites it 6× “12(c), in its action for in rem forfeiture of certain radio equipment pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 510 . United States v. Any & All Radio Station Transmission Equipment, 976 F.”

Show all 22 citing cases →

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.